Flammie
by DelphinusTrellia
Summary: an unfinished segment of a fanfic Based on the Secret of Mana.


Flammie

The dragon was a pale beige color from what she could see poking out from beneath the straw nest. Gently, she reached a slender hand down to pat the creature. A soft rumbling purr could be heard from within the tightly coiled mass of downy fur. When the purring stopped, the creature lifted its head somewhat warily and turned massive, crystalline blue eyes on her. They shone against the pale fur of its face like giant sapphires. Slowly, large transparent wings of faint pastel coloring unfurled and spread out above the beast's shoulders. The creature's orange claws dug into the straw of the nest and its pale green mane quivered slightly as it leaned forward to rest a rounded snout on her arm. A single tear ran down the girl's cheek as she gazed into the depths of its eyes. "You're so beautiful...," she choked, closing her eyes and sighing. The dragon rumbled gently in response and nudged her arm. She remained near the nest a bit longer, submerging her hand in the thick fur of the dragon's chest. "Am, we have to leave!" a voice called to the girl from a distance, echoing on the stone walls around her. She hesitantly turned around, seeing the light of a torch suddenly illuminating the hall from which she had come.

The dragon looked questioningly at her and she returned its gaze with a wistful look. It was still a baby dragon, one of the last of its kind. A white dragon. He was the most wonderful creature she had ever seen and she never wanted to leave him. The voice she had heard was her friend, Allie. The both of them had come to the tower to exterminate a horde of fire wolves rumored to be attacking people in the area. A massive reward had been offered for each killed, but she no longer cared about the reward. Still, she felt bad that she was letting Allie do all the work while she was admiring the dragon. She would have to say her goodbyes but she would return. A baby dragon could not raise itself afterall. This last thought cheered her up quite a bit and she smiled warmly at the dragon, patting him one last time on the nose. He rumble purred loudly and attempted to flutter his wings, causing them to shimmer in the afternoon sunlight. "Beautiful," she said softly to herself and turned to walk away. The dragon tried to scramble out of the nest and follow her, but she quickly said, "I'll be back soon," and pointed to the nest. The dragon seemed somewhat satisfied, as if he understood her and settled back into his nest, refurling his wings.

When Am returned to the corridor, she saw Allie leaning against the stone wall, tugging impatiently at her own tail. "Am, where have you been? I've killed all of the wolves without you. I have a mind to take the entire reward for myself!" she sighed. Am apologized half heartedly, knowing that Allie was joking. She loved doing all the work and was always the one to protect Am, preferring that she stay out of danger. Allie smiled up at her from halfway down the large spiral staircase. "This place is kind of peaceful without the wolves. Don't you think? Maybe we could spend the night...?" Am asked hopefully. Allie eyed her suspiciously. "In this musty old place?! How about a nice, cozy inn. I hear the Mythryl Dagger is a good place to spend the night and they have great fried Rabite. It's just down the road aways...," she said. Am nodded slightly, "Alright..." Allie sheathed her dagger. It was an odd looking weapon at first glance because it was split down the center into two blades that resembled tongues of flame. The hilt was emblazoned with the symbol for her race; a thin cat with lengthy ears and a tufted tail. Allie was a shining example of the Pyahs, a race of cat people that inhabited the town of Noria. She had large, cupped ears with fluffy tufts on the tips and an extra long tail with a larger tuft of fur on the end. Her hair was blood red and had streaks of an orange gold that hung down around and framed her face. Her fur was a pale shade of gold orange with deep amber stripes that slashed up and down her shapely form. She wore scant garments of tan underneath a tunic and cape that seemed a bit large for her. A single, silver claw was lifted to her chin as she pondered silently at Am's response. "You don't seem too enthralled."

Am managed a small smile and nodded confirmation that she was fine. Allie grinned and tugged her arm. Then she sprang down the stairs, Am in tow and out onto the balcony a floor below. They both looked out over the expanse of rolling emerald hills dotted here and there with cottages and farms. "Doesn't it just take away all your troubles?" Allie asked excitedly, looking at her expectantly with her immense, yellow green eyes. Flecks of crimson surrounded the irises. It was something Am enjoyed looking at. "Yes!" she cried after a moment of silence, stretching her arms out over the balcony's intricately carved rail and letting the light of an exuberant sun bathe her in its warmth. "Let's go!" she added happily, grabbing Allie's hand and pulling her down the stairs to the tower's entrance. Allie was more than a little shocked by this, but laughed whole heartedly as she almost tripped on the threshold at the gate. "To the inn!"

The two always seemed to make an odd looking pair when they entered a town. There were a lot of groups of adventurous that wandered in and out of towns like this and many of them were strange groupings of creatures that seemed in stark contrast to eachother. Though anything from wolf people, humans, golems, and rabbit people could enter a town, Allie and Am always drew a lot of stares for some reason. A number of small children came running up to Allie, poking and staring up at her with glee. She expressed her disgust with a shrug and a flick of her right ear. She always did that when she was annoyed. Am giggled to herself and walked over to the item shop, smiling happily at the owner. The owner was a large beige cat with a deep brown stripe running from his pink nose down to his fluffy tail. He was purring loudly and peering at her with eyes of a bright gold. "I have never seen such a stunning creature," he said, lifting a portly paw. Am blushed slightly. She could not resist the charm of such an adorable quadruped. A lot of the human men had taken notice to Am as well and were clustered in a nervous corner near the item shop. They spoke in low, admiring whispers and pointed. That is until Allie scattered them with her dagger flailing above her head and a few hoarse battlecries. Am was never aware of her own beauty and barely seemed to understand what was going on.

She was indeed eyecatching to say the least. She had pale, almost to the point of being white, skin and was very thin. Her eyes were large and brown amber and her hair was a vibrant silver with strands of black here and there. She wore garments that were far skimpier than anything Allie wore but was concealed partially by a transparent cape that came down to her waist and was as silver as her hair. Her clothing was usually either red, green, or brown beneath the cape and she often chose not to wear heavy armor unless it was absolutely necessary.

Allie was always chasing away interested suitors because she feared losing her friend. She always came back with a wide smile and put an arm around Am's shoulders, saying, "This place would be a lot better without such scum, right?" Am always answered with quiet laughter. The cat of the item shop seemed to grow impatient and snorted through a face that was a bit flat. Am stuttered apologetically and offered one hundred gil for a bit of silver thread. Allie glared at the cat beneath a raised eyebrow and pushed Am's hand away. "Don't you think that's a bit much. After all, you did say she was gorgeous. Did you not?" she said haughtily, knowing that her race had the upperhand when it came to these creatures. The cat coughed its annoyance and said, "Sixty five then." Allie smirked. "That's more like it."

Am took her thread, smiling to herself and walked ahead of Allie. "Oh! I just remembered! I haven't collected our reward yet, Am! I'll be right back. You go on ahead to the inn." Am continued walking without answering, lost in her thoughts. When she reached the inn, she saw that it was a quaint little affair with carvings of mermaids and birds in the cracked wood of the entrance. The windows were framed by curtains of various, unmatching patterns and an aroma of freshly baked bread wafted out into the town. She stepped into the doorway and beamed at the clerk, who was lazily sifting through the tattered, yellowing pages of an old book. He looked up at her and smiled, closing the book. "Welcome to the Mythryl Dagger. Are you spending the night?" Am nodded and handed him the sufficient gil. He nodded toward the second floow stairway and went back to his book. Am walked up the stairs slowly, taking in the scent of brewing coffee and listening to the faint twitterings of birds. When she reached their room, she collapsed on the bed and gazed up at the wooden rafters and metal lantern on the ceiling. Thoughts of the white dragon filled her and she grinned to herself as she remembered his sapphire eyes. She had read so many books and heard so many legends about the famed white dragon but never imagined that she would be able to see one. Tomorrow she would go see him again. She held up the silver thread she had just bought and watched it glint in the waning sunlight. It transformed into a glowing, gold bar of light within her fingers and she closed her hands around it.

Before she realized it, Allie was back, peering at her from the doorway to the room. She lay her dagger on the table beside the bed and sat down. "So what do you plan to do with that thread?" she asked absently. Am just smiled to herself and clutched it closer to her. She wanted to make a pendant for the dragon. She felt around in the pocket on her chest until she grasped the smooth stone beside her heart. It was a stone that had been given to her when she was younger. She brought it up to her face and peered into the dim shadow within the stone. She never could make out the shape in the center of the crimson stone. The glare of the lantern obscured it more than usual and she placed it back into her pocket. "Goodnight, Allie," Am sighed absently. Allie shot her a suspicious glance and then, deciding that there was probably a good reason why Am had not answered her, retired for the night in the adjacent room.

When she heard the muffled click of the lantern and saw the shadows stretch across the wall as the light in Allie's room died, Am immediately sat up, taking the stone out of her pocket once again. She felt it better not to tell Allie about the dragon just yet. She didn't want to risk her telling someone about it. After placing the stone in her lap, she lifted her palms above it and began chanting the words to a fire spell. Her voice was barely audible at first, but as the minute sparks danced and grew around her wrists, her mere whispering became a quiet song that intertwined with the deepening silence of twilight. The sparks became small flames that spasmed and trembled beneath her fingertips and she began to lower her palms, pushing the flames toward the stone. She focused on the fire, easing it into a more stable form, so she could aim it toward the top center of the stone. After a few moments of concentration, the flames became a small pillar that bore into the stone. What she wanted was a hole for the thread to slip through. After a few moments of intense focus, the flames had bore through the stone and melted away the hole. She slipped the thread through the hole and tied it together. For some reason, it did not satisfy her. After pondering briefly, she decided it needed something personal. She chose an ebony locke of her own hair and tore it, tying it around the middle of the stone. Deciding it was almost a fitting enough gift for a white dragon, she lay down and slept, returning the pendant to her pocket.

The following morning, it sounded as if the world had been taken over by songbirds. The explosive chorus of screeches and twitters that invaded the window sent Allie in a frustrated and rather clumsy rage as she stumbled to the window and practically roared at the birds. Am chuckled as she cheerily prepared their things. "You're up early," Allie snapped, her eyes shrunken to mere slits and ears flattened across her head. Am simply smiled. She was excited about seeing the dragon again. Allie informed her that they would be heading back to the tower because another reward had been posted for that area. Am nodded, smiling broadly. "What the hell are you so happy about?!" Allie asked, picking up a piece of bread from the kitchen downstairs. The clerk was looking at them curiously, "On your way then?" Allie turned and said, "Yeah, we got a ransom. Thank ya so much fer the hospitality!"

A cat boy sitting at one of the tables had been eyeing them since they came down the stairs. After hearing Allie mention a reward, the boy asked, "So, you're adventurers?" Allie looked at him with disgust. "Yeah, what of it?" The boy looked startled and asked more quietly, "Just the two of you?" Allie sighed and grabbed Am, "Yup. We don't need anyone else. Especially not the likes of you...." With that she put the bread back to her lips, about to swallow the remaining bit of it whole so she could leave. Suddenly, to her utter and complete shock, Am snatched it from her and ran off, laughing joyously. She stood gape mouthed for a moment before taking flight as well and calling, "That's my breakfast, Am! Give it back!" She was laughing just as hard as Am was without knowing exactly why. For some reason, the day had just come alive for her in that moment.

The two friends chased one another out of town, Allie screaming good natured obscenities all the way to the entrance. When they reached the plains outside of the town, Am stopped, completely out of breath. She bent over and clutched her stomach, still giggling as Allie struggled to catch up to her. "What in the hell has gotten into you, girl!?" she asked incredulously between gasps. "Watch out!" Am suddenly called out, putting a hand over her mouth. Before Allie knew what she was talking about, she was already tumbling head over heels in the grass. She landed flat on her stomach and groaning. The thing she had tripped on was bouncing up and down, chirping and squealing with rapture. "A rabite! Why you little...!" Allie instantly righted herself and whipped out her dagger, flailing it wildly before her in an attempt to frighten the little yellow creature. It gazed dumbly at her with large, watery black eyes and it's long, rabbit like ears jiggled as it bounced. "No, Allie! He didn't mean it! He didn't do anything wrong!" Am shrilled and ran up to pull Allie's arm back. "Please, I'm begging you. Don't hurt him!" Allie sighed and slapped a hand to her forehead. "Am, for Mana's sake....It's a _monster. _That's what it's here for." She said this without looking into Am's eyes because she knew she would receive a whole hearted puppy dog look. "Please, Allie...." Am begged, gripping her arm tighter. "Oh, alright...I can never win when it comes to you and animals..." She sheathed her dagger and patted Am on the shoulder. "I think it's time we get you a pet. You're so obsessed with anything furry or four legged. Why don't you keep the little guy?"

The creature seemed to know it was being spoken about and hopped clumsily over to Am. She knelt down and opened her arms to accept the rotund, limbless thing. It emitted a sort of rasping purr and it became a soft, quivering ball of fur in her hands. "Yes, I've always wanted a rabite. But, for some reason, I don't think it's a good idea. They are sort of-" Before she could finish, the rabite leapt from her arms and scruched up into an angry, wrinkled sphere with bared fangs and wild eyes. "-tempermental," she finished, looking at the monster's stretched out ears and listening to its warbled growling.


End file.
